


The Library

by wolfchasing



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Friendship, Gen, academic bros, the start of a beautiful friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-09
Updated: 2014-02-09
Packaged: 2018-01-11 17:37:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1175942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfchasing/pseuds/wolfchasing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lily, endlessly frustrated by the noise in her common room and the complete insensibility of quills, retreats to the library to study in peace.</p><p> </p><p>Basically Remus and Lily having a first encounter as Hogwarts students.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Library

Lily furiously scribbled on a scrap piece of parchment, writing words over and over again in a somewhat futile attempt to get used to the stupid quill that everyone in this world insisted she use. It was awkward to hold, the feathers made her skin itch, and she wasn’t too sure about the sanitary nature of using such an item. Magic was lovely and all, and now that she was living in the world she’d heard so much about, she wouldn’t give it up for anything, but there was no point in denying that the Muggle world simply did some things better.

She threw the quill down onto the desk with a soft cry of frustration. Though she’d been quiet, the sound still carried in the perfectly silent library, and the students studying at other tables shot her odd glares. Embarrassed, Lily hastily picked up her quill, and made another attempt at writing a whole sentence without blotting the ink. Just in time, too, as Madam Pince poked her head around the corner of a bookshelf, scanning every student’s face to try and discover who was making noise in her sacred library.

The moment Madam Pince disappeared into the shelves once more, Lily threw her quill down once more, glaring balefully at it and shaking her hand out in an attempt to relieve the cramps. She was muttering curse words learnt from Petunia under her breath, when she heard a noise resembling a stifled giggle.

Standing before her, with his hands laden by books and scrolls of parchment, was one of her fellow Gryffindor first years. Thankfully, it wasn’t Potter or Black, or any of the girls she unfortunately shared a dormitory with, but it was one of the quiet boys from her class. He seemed oddly amused by her plight, and she was just about to tell him to bugger off when she noticed something odd about his amused expression. Unlike Severus, who would always laugh at Lily with slight derision when she couldn’t get a wizarding thing right, or Potter, who would just outright laugh, the boy had an expression that could only truly be described as ‘amused curiosity.’

He didn’t say anything, and there was an awkward moment when neither of them spoke. “Um,” she began somewhat peevishly. “Can I help you… uh…” she cast her mind back to the Sorting Ceremony, and remembered sitting at the Gryffindor table and cheering when Lupin, Remus, was sent to join them. “Remus, right?”

He nodded, still holding a small smile, and found his voice. “Oh, yes, that’s me, sorry Lily. I was just looking for somewhere to study,” he shifted his books somewhat self-consciously. “And considering all the other tables are occupied, I was hoping I could sit here?”

Lily looked at him suspiciously. In the last week, whenever Remus had been around, Potter and Black were inevitably not far behind. “Those brats you call friends aren’t with you?”

Remus laughed softly as he set his stack of books down and fell into a chair. “No, thankfully not. If they followed me into the library, I think I would get a lifetime ban just for allowing them in.” He smiled lightly. “They’re not exactly the best study aids, as I’m sure you know.”

At this, Lily quirked a small smile. Her fellow first years were the exact reason why she’d abandoned the chaotic Gryffindor common room for the intense peace and silence of the library. It had always worked for her in primary school, so there was no reason as to why it shouldn’t work now. After a moment of silence, Lily turned back to the dreaded quill and gingerly picked it up.

She was about to start another sentence on her scrap of parchment, when she heard Remus huff a light laugh. Her rage rekindled, Lily returned her glare to Remus.  
“And what, exactly,” she bit out quietly, still somewhat weary of Madam Pince. “Are you finding so funny? Is it the fact that the poor muggle girl can’t handle the most basic of things?”

The only indication that Remus was fazed by her shift in mood was that his amused smile became more sympathetic. “No, sorry, I shouldn’t have laughed. It’s just, when I was just learning to use a quill, I was holding it the same way you are.” He smiled kindly. “You’re probably more used to ballpoints and pencils, like I was.”

Lily deflated, feeling incredibly embarrassed by her outburst. “Sorry, it’s been a rough first week.” She rubbed at the back of her head, feeling her face turn the same colour as her hair. She’d only been at Hogwarts for a week, and she was already missing her Mum and Dad, and even Petunia. She had encountered quite a few nasty older Slytherin boys that had hurled the insults that Severus had told her about, and as such, she wasn’t feeling particularly happy.

Remus shrugged, and made a note in one of his books. “It’s alright, I kinda understand. I never thought I’d get to come to Hogwarts, so I never really prepared myself for being here.”

Lily was puzzled. “Why did you think you wouldn’t come to Hogwarts?” She asked. “You just said that your Dad knows how to use a quill? You do have magic, right?"

Remus looked panicked for the briefest of moments, but the expression faded so fast that Lily wasn’t even sure it has been there. “I was sick for most of my childhood,” he ground out. “It wasn’t exactly easy on us.” As innocent as the answer had been, Remus clammed up, and began making notes from the Transfiguration textbook.

Lily raised her eyebrows at the abruptness of Remus’ answer. There was something about that response that didn’t ring quite true, but it wasn’t her place to pry. She picked up the quill, and after looking at Remus’ grip on his own, she tried to emulate it. It was instantly much easier on her fingers, and it barely blotted the page.

“So,” she said softly, wanting to draw away the tension that had suddenly sprung up. “How come you’re in the library? Couldn’t you study in your dorm?”

Remus smiled loosely, and all the tension disappeared. “I could, but if you think James and Sirius are trouble in the common room, then imagine what they’re like without any of those boundaries.” He made another quick note. “As much as I like their company, they’re not very peaceful people.”

She smiled and nodded in acknowledgement of Remus’ very fine point. In just a single week at Hogwarts, James Potter and Sirius Black had caused more grief than she had ever seen in six years of Muggle schooling. “It’s the same for me in my dorm,” she said, finally starting on her assignment now that the quill wasn’t blotting every second word. “The other girls are nice and all, but they don’t seem to care about schoolwork.” She pondered why this could be. “Other than Mary, the others are all from magical families, so they all must be used to magic. This stuff must be old news to them.” She looked up at Remus to smile at him, and found that he was already grinning at her. “I knew about magic before McGonagall visited me, from a friend, but I’ve never stopped being excited.”

“I completely understand,” Remus said, and Lily could see her joy reflected in his face. “I’ve always been around magic, but Mum’s a muggle, so every time she was in awe over the things Dad did instinctively, I kinda took my cues from her. It’s just so fascinating, you know?”

Lily laughed happily, and then immediately ducked her head as she remembered where she was. “It’s literally the stuff of fairy tales! Why wouldn’t you be excited?!”

Remus grinned widely, and held out his hand for her to shake. “To seven lovely years of fairy tales.”

She readily met his palm, and closed her hand around his calloused fingers. “And hopefully, to many more after that.”

The only thing that broke their grins was the sound of Madam Pince swooping down on them and screeching about ‘breathing on her precious books.’

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't fic'd for a long time, and recently, I was frustrated by the lack of Lily and Remus brofics available, so I wrote one for myself.
> 
> I'm posting this un-beta'd because I know that if I wait to get it beta'd, I'd lose my nerve, so, um, here you go.


End file.
